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Income has been distributed unequally since times immemorial.
Efforts to statistically estimate income distributions and income
inequality date back to the beginning of econometrics. The Pareto
distribution and the Gini concentration index are among the most
well-known examples. There is inequality among the incomes of the people
who constitute a nation; there is also inequality among the per capita
incomes of different nations. We may presume that the latter type of
inequality has increased substantially since the Western world started
its economic development, but the actual measurement of this increase is
seriously hampered by the fact that the per capita incomes of different
nations are expressed in different currencies. Attempts to express these
per capita incomes in a common currency by means of the usual exchange
rates will typically lead to substantial errors.

Many studies have estimated the effect of circumstances on income acquisition. Perhaps surprisingly, the fraction of inequality attributable to circumstances is usually quite small-in the advanced democracies, approximately 20%. One reason for this is the lack of data on circumstance variables in empirical research. Here, we argue that all behaviors and accomplishments of children should be considered the consequence of circumstances: that is, an individual should not be considered to be responsible for her choices before an age of consent is reached. Using two data sets that contain data on childhood accomplishments, other environmental circumstances and the income as an adult, we calculate that the fraction of income inequality due to circumstances in the US rises from 27 to 43% when accounting for childhood circumstances. In the UK it rises from 18 to 27%.

Divided into four parts, the book is structured as follows:Part 1: Examines the extent to which the inequality of incomes is guided by ethical principles.Part 2: Illustrates the growth of the theory of distribution in the hands of successive generations of economists.Part 3: Develops the theory on the subject of the division of income between categories.Part 4: Looks at the division of income between people and the causes of that inequality, paying particular attention to the factor of inherited wealth

Many studies have estimated the effect of circumstances on income acquisition. Perhaps surprisingly, the fraction of inequality attributable to circumstances is usually quite small - in the advanced democracies, on the order of 20%. One reason for this is the lack of data on circumstance variables in empirical research. Here, we argue that all behaviors and accomplishments of children should be considered the consequence of circumstances: That is, an individual should not be considered to be responsible for her choices before an age of consent is reached. Using two data sets that contain data on childhood accomplishments, other environmental circumstances, and the income as an adult, we compute that the fraction of income inequality due to circumstances in the US is over 45%, and in the UK it is over 31%.